MANILA, Philippines – Microblogging site Twitter stepped up anti-harassment measures by banning the accounts of an infamous troll named Charles “Chuck” Johnson.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday, May 26, that Johnson was permanently suspended from Twitter on Sunday after asking for funds to “take out” civil rights activist DeRay McKesson.

Johnson, who owns the GotNews.com blog, is known online for posting stories that do not hold up to scrutiny, as well as revealing the contact information – otherwise known as doxxing – of two New York Times reporters.

According to an explainer from Gawker, Johnson has written erroneous reports before, such as falsely accusing a New York Times reporter of secretly posing for Playgirl.

Twitter has also taken down Johnson’s later attempts to re-establish himself on the service, which made Johnson and his lawyers threaten legal action, accusing Twitter of censoring him.

Contrary to popular belief, however, Twitter can exercise its own set of standards for speech according to the values it holds and what its users want because the United States’ first amendment applies only to a citizen and his government. – Rappler.com